During my journey as a Christian, the Bible has been used as a book of wisdom. Many elders in my church will use scriptures to define the world we live in today. From homosexuality to controlling addiction, the Bible became the answer to my problems. However, it does have me wonder why Christians are compelled to the Bible when it has been created by man. I do believe that Bible is a wisdom book, but there is a difference between how God’s Word operates in other resources and the Bible itself.
The Bible, or God’s Word, operates within the hearts of common people who did not know the Lord; it also operates in Christians today. The Bible teaches us about creation of the world, the original sin, the redemption from Jesus, and the restoration of
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Genesis 3 demonstrates why humans became sinful and why evil came into the world. Adam and Eve used their free will to disobey God, taking the apple from the tree and eating it. Evil became a part of human once the Original Sin has been done. Though God knew they would fail, it should not influence us to blame God. The bottom line in the Bible is that God gave us the will to choose Him or not. Because of the original sin, the good deeds in our lives cannot save us; instead, the good deeds are “filthy rags” to God (Isaiah 64:4-6). It is the motives and the human sin that separates God from mankind. The Bible has made it clear that mankind needs a …show more content…
Jesus Christ is the example of God throughout the Bible. Christ has been recognized throughout the Bible from Old to New Testament. This is why people call us “Christians” today; we are followers of Christ. Jesus Christ lived with mere, sinful man; however, he cared for each one of us. To me, Christ is the best influence in my life. I know that he lived life fully. He was born from the Virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit. He taught us how to change our lifestyles and hearts; this is to prepare us for the coming Kingdom of God in Heaven. He perform many miracles, including humanizing the minorities and the forgotten. As a result, he suffered under the government of Pontius Pilate, dying on the cross to tear the veil between God and mankind. In Hell, he took keys of Death and Hades from Satan. From the grave, he rose, even though many do not believe. He returned home in Heaven, sitting right next to His Father in Heaven; in exchange for our lives, he gave us His spirit in order to make wise decisions in a secular
In his essay, "The Magnitude, Duration, and Distribution of Evil: a Theodicy," Peter van Inwagen alleges a set of reasons that God may have for allowing evil to exist on earth. Inwagen proposes the following story – throughout which there is an implicit assumption that God is all-good (perfectly benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient) and deserving of all our love. God created humans in his own likeness and fit for His love. In order to enable humans to return this love, He had to give them the ability to freely choose. That is, Inwagen holds that the ability to love implies free will. By giving humans free will, God was taking a risk. As Inwagen argues, not even an omnipotent being can ensure that "a creature who has a free choice between x and y choose x rather than y" (197)1. (X in Inwagen’s story is ‘to turn its love to God’ and y is ‘to turn its love away from God,’ towards itself or other things.) So it happened that humans did in fact rebel and turn away from God. The first instance of this turning away is referred to as "the Fall." The ruin of the Fall was inherited by all humans to follow and is the source of evil in the world. But God did not leave humans without hope. He has a plan "whose working will one day eventuate in the Atonement (at-one-ment) of His human creatures with Himself," or at least some of His human creatures (198). This plan somehow involves humans realizing the wretchedness of a world without God and turning to God for help.
The Bible is read and interpreted by many people all over the world. Regardless, no one knows the absolute truth behind scripture. Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament, wrote “Biblical Authority” to help people understand what he describes as six different parts that make up the foundation to ones understanding of scripture. He defines these six features as being: inherency, interpretation, imagination, ideology, inspiration, and importance. As Brueggemann explains each individual part, it is easy to see that they are all interconnected because no one can practice one facet without involuntarily practicing at least one other part.
There is much debate over the accuracy and the inerrancy of Scripture. Pertaining to this debate there exists an underlying question as to whether or not the New Testament is considered part of the canon or for that matter if it is actually given by the inspiration of God. How did the books that are in the New Testament get there? Who decided which books should be added or taken out? Do we have all the books that we should have? Many ask these questions, but Christians are ill equipped to give an answer. For centuries, Christians have claimed that they have the absolute truth, are saved only by faith, and claim the Scriptures as inspired by God. In spite of these claims many Christians are not able to clarify the origins of what they place all of their faith upon. The questions asked above are profoundly significant since they have eternal consequences. They have consequences because in order to trust and obey God there must be certainty in the accuracy of God’s Word. This testament will attempt to answer the question: How Do We Know The New Testament is God’s Word?
Dr. David Jeremiah states, “One of the main issues we must understand is humanity is in a fallen state. Unfortunately, this is due to choices made in the garden that we have no control over.” The Bible says, “It is in the heart of man to do evil.” Hence, the scriptures are given to us for guidance and instruction on morality and relationships. (Ecclesiastes 8:11)
While reading through the Bible, a person does not expect to find so much forgiveness and unconditional love. As Christians, the Bible is our book whenever there are questions that need to be answered. Throughout his or her life, a Christian is taught of the life of Christ and His Resurrection, but there is a lot of information that seems to be overlooked. When asked to explain the big picture of the Bible, it is easiest to look through the main stories of the Bible and find common themes. While looking through the Bible, and finding so many themes present throughout, but there is one that important in the life of a Christian, the cycle of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration is one of the most important ones seen from Genesis to Revelation.
He is God incarnate who became flesh to take away the sins of the world. He was a poor servant, an obedient child who grew up with wisdom and understanding and became man so that the Word became flesh to dwell among humanity (Weaver, 2014). For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus’ ministry was to preach and teach about the Kingdom Of Heaven and these teachings are the revelations that mankind are to live by in order to get into Heaven and find salvation (DiVincenzo, 2015). The teaching about the Kingdom was for God to restore his creation into the right relationship with himself (DiVincenzo, 2015). This was established so that he and his people can be together in peace, justice, and truth (DiVincenzo, 2015). This identity of Jesus and the work that he did on earth is important to the Christian worldview because it shows that God fulfilled his promise of the Messiah to save the world and it also fulfilled the scripture of the one that was to come. This is an essential element to the beliefs as a
I believe that the Bible is the holy word which was revealed for the purpose that man can know God and His will. Man is spiritual dead and cannot know anything, God has to revealed himself through His word to man (1 Cor. 2:7-11; 2 Peter 1:20-21). The revelation came by supernatural ways which are dreams (Gen. 37:5-9), visions (Gen. 15; Amos 7-9), and direct communication (1 Sam. 3:3-14). The Bible is written revelation, or God’s communication of divine truth to man. The revelation occurs in two forms: general and special. The general revelation is the truths that can be known about God through nature (Ps. 8; 19:1-6). The general revelation cannot bring salvation to man because it only demonstrates the existence of God, but it does not show man way he can be saved (Rom. 2:14-16). Man is without excuse as he suppresses the general revelation of God in his heart, man bears God's wrath and judgment (Rom. 1:18-20). The special revelation is the specific truths that can be known about God through the supernatural way
Sacred texts and writings are integral to a living and dynamic religious tradition. Such texts are materials that can range from verbally spoken stories to writings. Sacred texts and writings provide followers with information on core ethical behaviour, rituals and ceremonies, as well as beliefs. The idea of the texts and writings being sacred refers to the texts encompassing divine inspiration. Christianity’s sacred texts and writings, such as the bible (conveyed as the word of God), are continually studied/interpreted throughout generations. The teachings of the bible and the ‘Ten Commandments’ provide Christians with morally accepted standards of behaviour to live their lives by and thus directly influence the day-today actions of its adherents. Furthermore, sacred texts and writings provide information on beliefs, which assist adherents in understanding and even answering significant enduring questions of life. For instance, the creation story ...
According to Janet Chismar, of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, the Bible is a “collection of books, written by dozens of authors over many hundreds of years…. But in spite of their diversity, when you examine them, you discover they all have a common theme: God’s relationship with the human race.” The Bible is believed to be the inspired word of God. Chismar continues to explain the Bible’s significance by stating, “The Bible isn’t just a collection of men’s ideas about God, nor is it a guidebook for living that people developed over the centuries. It is the Word of God–and that makes all the difference. This means the Bible is our authority in everything it touches. This means the Bible is our guide to show us how to live. Most of all, this means the Bible is our instructor, teaching us about God and His plan of salvation in Christ.” Those of Christian faith believe that the Bible is God’s definitive doctrine.
The doctrine of Scripture is foundational to the Christian faith. But there is more to say about Scripture than simply, “The Bible says it.” I believe it. That settles it.” If you don’t grasp what the Bible is and how it came to be, you’ll never fully grasp its meaning. Since the meaning of the Bible is vitally important to our faith and life. God has spoken and God speaks. God has spoken and continues to speak through the Holy Scriptures, the Bible. The questions that I ask myself on a daily basis is, how well do I know what the Bible tells us about the Bible? Could I go into a room with complete confidence and speak the truth to many different people? That is why it is always important for me to be prepared.
Proverbs 1:20-33 is a climactic telling of what happens to those who do not fear the Lord and seek knowledge as said in Proverbs 1:7. Wisdom is not just talked about in the first chapter, but found throughout the book of Proverbs. Throughout there is also a common theme about what will happen to those who do not choose wisdom. This pericope is basically a set up for the rest of the book in regards to what happens to those who do not choose wisdom. Wisdom is also personified as a woman. Woman wisdom will seek after those who are simple and hate knowledge with patience for only so long; once she has had enough she will present to them one last option that is severe in hopes that they will change their ways.
Even though humans wrote the text, translating it and passing it down from generations to generations, God’s truth is unchanging. Debates of the inerrancy of the bible cannot usurp God as the King of grace. Instead of focusing on the inerrancy of the Bible, individuals who wish to seek a life of faith should focus on the inspiration God is showing them in his word. These revelations should move them into applicable, daily life changing implications from what they have learned. God shows revelations of himself through the Bible, and his character is revealed time and time again throughout scripture. Any faulty facts or discrepancies in grammar or data, should not take away from the value that scripture holds. When we read scripture we bring new meaning of interpretations of the truths God shows us, since new eras and environmental factors will be influential on how we process information. The bible is not just a fact book, telling humans stories of the past, but instead the bible is inspired instructions for how we can deal with spiritual and ethical encounters we
Wisdom literature is a type of writing that focuses on existential questions about God, humanity, creation, and the nature of evil and suffering. It can be a short insight like the book of Proverbs, or a dialogue like in the book of Job. Wisdom literature was written in several different cultures in the Ancient Near East, but the Bible is the best known. In all there are five books of Wisdom literature in the bible, they are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. One example of Wisdom literature in the Bible is the book of Job. Job is one of the most famous characters in the Bible due mostly to being known as the suffering saint. Job experiences terrible ordeals and calls out to God for an explanation. There was no simple
It starts with Adam and Eve’s first act of disobedient in the garden, each biblical book affirms that human evil is the inescapable result of human disobedience, not of God’s ill will or neglect. The first chapters of Genesis depict God as disappointed by human wickedness, suggesting that the humans,not God, are responsible for human evil (Genesis 6:6). Later books, such as Judges and Kings, show God’s repeated attempts to sway the Israelites from the effects of their evil. These stories emphasize the human capacity to reject God’s help, implying that the responsibility for evil lies with humanity. “The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord . . .” (Judges 3:12). Though, God repeatedly calls upon the Israelites to destroy entire cities, killing men, women, and children in the process. In the book of Job God’s implication in natural evil is directly questioned. God punishes Job harshly for no other reason than to prove to Satan that Job is religiously faithful. In the end, it is declared to Job, by God, that God’s powerful ways are beyond human understanding and should not be questioned. The book indirectly states that God sometimes uses natural evil as a rhetorical device—as a means of displaying his power or of proving a point in a world already tainted by human corruption. Though in both the Iliad and Old Testament war is a trouble for the people the way the higher power/powers handles it is what makes the biggest
Jesus Christ was the light that came to earth to brighten the lives of the people. He taught phenomenal and meaningful lessons that changed many hearts and caused people to accept Jesus as their Lord. Jesus Christ is the life of Christianity; the Word of God in flesh. His life, his ministry, and his crucifixion where prophesied long before he was born and Christians believe that they were all fulfilled. He had so much love for human kind that he came to earth to die for the sins of the people, so that their souls would be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Bible testifies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who taught memorable life lessons and performed astonishing miracles during his ministry.